Vulnerable women are being exploited and abused in ‘pop-up brothels’ around Dublin, Labour senator Kevin Humphreys has warned.

The former minister says that short-term letting of city-centre pads has led to temporary prostitution dens popping up all over the capital.

Mr Humphreys told the Senate yesterday that in one apartment block in Dublin 2, “more than half of the apartments are available for short-term letting. Recently, one of those apartment was used as a pop-up brothel”.

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He said that the practice of renting city-centre flats on a short term basis to be used as brothels has become an increasingly widespread practice, adding that this was causing security issues for residents.

A sex worker in a brothel (Image: Getty)

The Labour senator told the Irish Daily Mail: “Short-let websites are facilitating this situation. For the weekend that this particular brothel was operating - and in one block largely populated by old people - at least a hundred customers were going up and down on the lift.

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He added that one apartment resident, a 60-year-old woman who had reported the issue, noted that two young women seemed to be behind the brothel in her block.

The frustrated resident said that with her son’s help, she investigated online and discovered that the same two women had shifted their operation to another apartment block - this time in Temple Bar - the following week.

Labour's Kevin Humphreys

Mr Humphreys said that this brothel was also set up in a short-term let.

Security sources confirmed that ‘pop-up brothels’ are becoming more prevalent in Dublin, the paper said, adding that two sources based at different south Dublin Garda stations said gardai were frequently contacted by concerned residents complaining about brothels.